What Really Happened at the State Fair

The Idea – A Social Experiment

We wanted to do something different for FASD Awareness Month this year. The idea was simple – have a visibly pregnant woman drinking beer at the MN State Fair and capture people’s reactions. Would they say something? Well…..yes and no. “We got a lot of comments under people’s breath,” Claire, our model who posed as the pregnant person drinking, said. But not a single person uttered a negative word, at least not to her face. In fact, she even had some people congratulate her for drinking while being pregnant, which was interesting to say the least.

See the highlights in the video below, created for FASD Awareness Month:

Getting People Talking

The goal of this experiment was to simply get people talking about the subject! We want it out in the open, being debated and discussed. And it worked! When the story aired on KARE 11 10PM News, KARE 11 Sunrise, WCCO AM Radio, KS95 and even the national FOX & Friends AM Show, each of their respective Facebook pages, comment boards and several other pregnancy related blogs went crazy with comments and passionate discussions on the topic of drinking during pregnancy. Comments ranged from “I would have said something” to “Since it was only a few beers I was ok with minding my own business. It would be have different if she would have been drunk.” Check out some of the media coverage below – FOX & Friends even brought in a psychologist to analyze why people may or may not have confronted our “pregnant” model.

KARE 11 segment:

FOX & Friends segment:

What Does this Tell Us?

First, our out-of-the-box strategy to get people’s attention and get people talking about drinking during pregnancy worked. Secondly, if people won’t say something about drinking while pregnant, MOFAS will! We will continue to reach and teach on our 049 message. There is still so much misinformation on how much is too much, and that certain types of alcohol like wine or beer are not as harmful as hard liquor. MOFAS will work hard to ensure that people have accurate, good information to make good health related decisions with.

You Can Make A Difference

We are beginning to change the social norm, but we have a ways to go! Be a part of making the difference. Donate any amount you can to support MOFAS prevention work – click here. Or simply help share our 049 message – Zero Alcohol For Nine Months. We want every woman to know that no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy!